Ogunquit, Maine: What To Do, Where To Eat, And Where To Stay

When The Frugal Rooster and I got married, we decided to postpone our honeymoon until more resources were available.  I also knew that I was going to be stressed enough moving, planning a wedding, redoing half of a house, and getting my condo ready to rent.  This gave me a year to plan a bucket list trip for both of us- to Maine.  We decided to split the trip into two sections.  We flew to Portland on a discount airline, grabbed our rental car (paid for with credit card bonus points), and headed up to our first stop, Ogunquit.  I wouldn’t call this a super frugal trip, but we did save some money with a few of our decisions.

Check out my other Frugal Travel Ideas!

Where to Stay

If you want to stay in the downtown area (which I recommend), you won’t find any big hotel chains.  You will discover jaw-dropping traffic on weekend nights.  Everything you want to see is within walking distance, so consider paying a few extra bucks to stay in the heart of the action.  If you are a points person who MUST stay at a chain, you will find a few within an easy driving distance.

Like other oceanside towns, staying directly on the water is the most expensive option.  We stayed about two streets away, and it was still lovely.  We stayed in the cheapest room possible at The Admiral’s Inn.  I won’t lie, it was TIGHT.  I had to use the fridge for my laptop as a desk, and we couldn’t lay our suitcases on the ground and still walk around the room.  I would have spent a few more dollars to upgrade to a larger room had I known how small it was.  Everything else about the hotel was fantastic – great breakfast included in the hotel price, fire pit, and games every night. The rooms were clean, the location was stellar, and parking was close.

Marginal Way

Marginal Way is a scenic, paved 1.25-mile footpath along the rocky coastline of the Atlantic Ocean.  I have never seen beaches along the Atlantic Ocean like the ones in Maine. Marginal Way, even almost a year later, is still the most beautiful place I think I have ever been.  We took so many pictures.

Even as I look back at the pictures, they still don’t seem real.  

We saw many people walking with their morning coffee, going for a run, or just enjoying the view like we were.  There is no cost to walk the path, and early in the morning, parking is readily available. During the most popular hours, parking may become more difficult.  Benches are strategically located throughout the area, and we must have stopped at a half dozen places to stare.

At the end of the footpath, you will find Perkins Cove.

Perkins Cove

Perkins Cove is a historic fishing village and artist colony.  It has a working fish harbor, a landmark drawbridge, and more of that gorgeous rocky coastline.  The restaurants serve fresh seafood and other delicacies, which you will want to grab between ducking into the local shops.  Although we didn’t do them, there are plenty of guided and boat tours that depart from the area.  It looks like a postcard.

Shopping and Restaurants

Art galleries, restaurants, ice cream parlors, and t-shirt shops create a perfect little town.  The window displays alone were enough to keep me entertained- they were beautiful.  I believe we had ice cream each night from a different parlor.  Our favorite restaurant was the Treehouse Taqueria, but we only had maybe three meals actually in town.  Since we had breakfast included at the hotel and ate at our destinations each day, we didn’t sample a massive amount of the food in Ogunquit.  For my fellow vegetarians, I highly recommend the BBQ Jackfruit tacos!

I know you are asking about the lobster.  Since we had a day trip to Portland planned, we skipped the lobster here.  But don’t worry, there were plenty of places to try it.

Be sure to set aside at least one night to walk around and take it all in.

Do Not Miss the Ogunquit Playhouse

When I visit an area, I always look for two things- a ghost tour and a theater.  They didn’t have a year-round ghost tour, but I was astonished to find a Broadway-caliber theater.  In the small town of Ogunquit, there’s a playhouse where shows can refine their performances before heading to Boston or New York.  We saw the WORLD premiere of “My Best Friend’s Wedding The Musical,” which was running while we were there.  We paid around $45 for excellent seats.

Possible Day Trips

Oguinquit was our home base for three days.  We decided to spend one day in Kennebunkport and one day in Portland.  Each was an easy drive and had a charm all its own.  After three days, we checked out and went to our next destination- Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park!